Final preparations are underway for Stockholm World Water Week 2016, which this year takes place 28 August – 2 September. Similar to previous years, GWP has a prominent role at the event, with representatives involved in a number of sessions. Here are some highlights.
Based on country studies on Local Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Practices (LIKSP) and how they contribute to enhancing climate resilience in each of the 14 countries in the SADC region, Qandelihle Simelane (regional consultant of LIKSP studies) gave a regional summation from country studies undertaken in the region during the 6th SADC River Basin Organisations (RBOs) Workshop held from the 15th to the 17th of October 2014 at Birchwood Hotel, Johannesburg, South Africa under the theme “Strengthening Regional Cooperation and Resilience in Water Related Disasters.”
GWP took part in the fith Africa Water Week held in Dakar from 26 to 31 May 2014. There were four sub themes (1. Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene : Partnerships, Innovations, and Investements- Post-2015 ; 2. Water Resources Management for Sustainable Development ; 3 : Waste water Management and Water quality ; 4 : Water and Disaster Risk Management) and GWP was one of the lead conveners in Sub themes 2 and 3 and co-conveners in sub theme 4.
In addition to all presentations made, GWP had an exhibition booth which was well visited by participants for documentation. Many GWP Africa regions brought some documentation to add to Global documentation.
The Strengthening Institutions of Transboudary Water in Africa (SITWA), a GWP/ANBO programme hosted by OMVS also invited its partner RBOs who brought some documentation exhibited at GWP booth.
Senegal PM (purple) visits GWP booth in company of AMCOW interim Chair and ANBO Chair
Participants visit GWP booth for documentation
GWP booth receives visitors
As part of the implementation of the GWP Gender Strategy, a workshop for 24 rural women on the installation and maintenance of a rainwater harvesting system as an alternative to water scarcity recently took place in Honduras. Participants included women who had previous experience in water management and who are leaders in their communities, NGOs, or work in a municipality.
Up to 300 participants from more than 30 countries were gathered for the Gender, Water and Development Conference, 7-11 November in East London, South Africa. The conference is organised as a step towards an on-going journey to change equality, equity and development in the water sector.
The fifth National Training Workshop related to the implementation of the WACDEP Capacity Development Programme on the “Economics of Adaptation Water Security and Climate Resilience Development” was held in Maputo-Mozambique on the 09th - 10th April 2015, at the National Director of Water Affairs (DNA) premises. The opening was done by the Deputy National Director for Water, Mr. Hélio Banze.
Lebanon and Jordan are exploring the possibility of joining the UNECE Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (Water Convention). To assist the two countries in this process, UNECE and the Global Water Partnership - Mediterranean (GWP-Med), with financial support provided by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), have organised national workshops to increase awareness and understanding of relevant stakeholders of the different legal and institutional frameworks for cooperation on shared waters resources, the specificities of the UNECE Water Convention, in comparison to the UN Watercourses Convention, as well as the complementarity of the two agreements.
The Global Water Partnership, Eastern Africa in partnership with the Ethiopian Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Energy, the Nile IWRM-Net/ Cap-Net and Water and Land Resource for Ethiopian Country Water Partnership (WLRC) organized a Regional Training on Drought Risk Management and Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 15-19 June 2015.
From 8 to 10 June 2015 was held the workshop for the drafting of the Burkina’s 2014 performance report on water and sanitation for AMCOW.
The opening of the workshop was marked by the keynote by Mr. Amidou SAVADOGO, Director General of Water Resources who stressed the importance of the 2014 performance report that should serve as advocacy document for the post 2015 agenda.